S.J. infrastructure jobs hold potential

Sunday

May 11, 2014 at 12:01 AM

When politicians and economists talk about infrastructure, the focus is usually on building or repairing major civil works projects, such as highways, bridges, water treatment plants and reservoirs, and the short-term construction jobs they generate.

Reed Fujii

When politicians and economists talk about infrastructure, the focus is usually on building or repairing major civil works projects, such as highways, bridges, water treatment plants and reservoirs, and the short-term construction jobs they generate.

But a broader definition of the nation's infrastructure - including those construction jobs as well as ongoing operational tasks, such as truck driving, freight and material handling, and diesel engine repair - finds infrastructure plays a major role in the U.S. economy.

Infrastructure employment accounts for more than one in every 10 jobs. It is even more dominant in San Joaquin County, providing nearly one of every seven jobs, or 14.5 percent, in the region, according to a report released Friday by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program

"The previous conversations have always been about creating short-term jobs to create the project," said Joseph Kane, lead author for the new Brookings report on infrastructure employments.

"When we think about infrastructure more broadly, these systems are really part of our urban fabric for decades, in some cases for centuries," he said.

"We looked at the full expanse of transportation facilities ... , water systems, energy systems, telecommunication, and trade and logistics, which is where Stockton comes into play," Kane said. San Joaquin County is known demographically as the Stockton Metropolitan Area.

Within the region are a number of major transportation assets, including two north-south freeways, major highway access to the Bay Area, two major railroad hubs, the Port of Stockton as well as access to the major container port in Oakland, and Stockton Metropolitan Airport.

"Stockton has a tremendous advantage of being the intersection of a lot of these transportation networks," Kane noted. That translates into a lot of transportation and goods-related jobs.

The Brookings report found among the leading construction-related occupations were electricians, civil engineers, plumbers and pipe fitters.

With more than 26,000 infrastructure workers out of a total labor force of more than 180,000, Lame said, "It's enormous."

Memphis, Tenn., leads the rankings for the share of infrastructure jobs. It is also a center for transportation and distribution, with two major interstate highways, has numerous rail connections, and its airport is the original hub for FedEx air freight operations. Brookings found 17.8 percent, or more than 1 in 6, of Memphis jobs are infrastructure-related.

"Many areas that are kind of key logistics hubs have very high shares of infrastructure employment," Kane said.

Other types of activities, such as the energy and utility centers of New Orleans and Houston, also generate higher-than-average shares of infrastructure workers.

One factor pointing to the strength of infrastructure jobs is that the pay is relatively high for the lowest-paid workers, the study found.

In San Joaquin County, for example, the lowest-paid 10 percent of infrastructure workers earned about $13 an hour, compared with only $8 an hour for the lowest 10 percent of all workers. That same gap was seen at the 25th percentile in pay, with infrastructure workers receiving an average of more than $15 an hour vs. more than $10 an hour for all workers.

That pattern was reversed at higher wage levels. At the 75th and 90th percentile of wage levels, infrastructure workers' pay averaged less than employees in all industries.

Kane said this "equitable wage distribution," compared to overall wage patterns, held true in nearly all areas of infrastructure employment.

Entry-level positions for workers such as bus drivers and electric installers are often unionized and offer higher starting wages than in non-infrastructure jobs, such as retail clerks, he said. "They are a more viable option than other occupations that appeal to workers with low skills."

While many infrastructure workers typically receive some sort of on-the-job training, either short or long term, they need less formal education. Only about 12 percent hold bachelor's degrees.

And the researchers found there's a good deal of opportunity for future jobs in infrastructure, particularly as the baby boom generation enters retirement.

By 2022, they estimate the nation will need to replace 40 percent or more of its ship captains, marine pilots and sailors, for example.

Kane said he hopes the report helps bring attention to the infrastructure sector and its promising employment opportunities.

"These jobs are out there; they're in many different places in the county," he said. "Let's start talking about ways we can support this work force and help these workers get more and better jobs."